So if Kyousuke could find that plate, he'd be able to save Lloyd. Of course, that wouldn't be a simple task, but that was more than he'd been expecting. There was a clear answer this time, no deciphering riddles about butterflies and beheaded saints for a cure that had been right there all along. That was encouraging.

...Until the rest of what Lloyd was saying made it even worse. "Kratos?" Kyousuke repeated, dumbstruck. That Kratos? .... It had to be. That didn't seem like the type of name you'd see people sharing. "He had one too?" Kyousuke normally had a sharp eye, but in this case, he honestly couldn't remember. The times they met during the night, Kratos had been wearing gloves, and the one time they'd spoke during the day, too much had happened, and he hadn't been able to bear looking at him.

So not just one, but two friends were falling victim to this. Maybe that wasn't quite the right word in Kratos' case, but leaving it 'acquaintance' seemed like a disservice, at this point. Hadn't Sora been enough? Him, and how many others died because of that monster sickness they'd concocted? And now this... He was so pissed off he was beginning to feel sick.

"...If we don't know where it is, we'll just have to check everywhere," he said firmly. It wasn't the best plan. In fact, it was a total fool's errand. He knew that. But still... "We can't do anything if we give up before we try."